Tuesday, January 02, 2007

From Lyn Gardner's rant in the Guardian, it appears Londoners are as sick of West End prices as New Yorkers are of Broadway's.

Gardner, though, makes the additional snobby but fair point of: if I'm throwing away this much cash, I might as well be treated right!

As West End prices rise to a point where a ticket becomes a real luxury item, only affordable as a special treat, why does the experience often feel so stressful? If a party of six were spending almost £400 [$800] at a restaurant, you'd certainly be treated very well. You'd expect the staff to take an interest; you'd expect not to have to queue in the cold to get into the building; not to have to then queue for 15 minutes to use a lavatory that doesn't flush; to find adequate bars open and, if you ordered drinks in advance, get to them before the end-of-interval bell sounded.

Not to mention the people behind you kicking the seats, the cell phone going off in front of you, the snorer and heavy breather to your left and right...

And just imagine a four-star restaurant serving the gastronomical equivalent of High Fidelity.

Yes, if anything will finally ruin Broadway, it will have to be pissed off rich people.